The Indiana House on Tuesday approved a
proposal which seeks to put a gay marriage ban in the Indiana
Constitution.
After roughly an hour of debate, House
members approved House Joint Resolution 3 (HJR-3) with a 57-40 vote.
But even if the Senate follows the
House's lead, voters will not vote on the measure this year as
previously expected.
That's because HJR-3's language was
altered in the House. An amendment approved on Monday carves out
banning civil unions and other similar arrangements. That alteration
means that the measure cannot advance to the ballot box until after
the next General Assembly gives its approval.
“While we are disappointed that this
harmful amendment cleared the House, we certainly are not deterred,”
Freedom Indiana, the coalition working to derail HJR-3, said in an
emailed statement. “We took a huge step forward yesterday as
members of the House voted overwhelmingly to strike down the
dangerous second sentence of HJR-3 – meaning we are still closer
than ever to keeping this amendment off the ballot this year.”